


moving day

by Cyane



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Gen, Multi, Please read notes, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart, post-infinity war part 2 (speculation)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-08 20:59:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14702199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyane/pseuds/Cyane
Summary: The war is over, and the Avengers move back into Stark Tower.





	moving day

**Author's Note:**

> New series! I'm planning on having a wide variety of fics connecting to this one, with several separate subplots. This is all AU/speculation for post-part two, after the infinity wars. If you're interested, please feel free to subscribe/bookmark. 
> 
> Please read the series notes for more details, they'll update as I add more parts to the tambi series. :)

The room had gotten very quiet very quickly. A pregnant pause of stunned silence was filling up the briefing room like a cloud. 

"You want us to _what?_ " It was Clint, in the end, who broke the silence. "Are you serious? How the hell is that a good idea- have you watched the news, lately?"

Fury was giving him a one-eyed glare. "And why the fuck not? I've got more than just the council on my ass, Barton. You might've saved the universe a few months ago, but you can't be allowed to go freelance when there isn't an enhanced power with destructive intent. That makes you vigilantes. Your job isn't to meddle in the political, foreign affairs of sovereign countries."

Clint's jaw tightened, along with several other people around the table, but he didn't argue. Not to Nick Fury. 

From one end of the table, Steve felt his cheek twitch. "Are we really back to this, Nick? The Accords are over, we just _proved_ that--"

"Right now there are mass protests to imprison all of you immediately, Rogers. In every country. Because you're not getting the main goddamn point-- you can't force what you deem as 'protection' over people. That's not how this world works."

"I won't sign," Steve replied stubbornly, although he looked deep in thought, thinking over what Fury had said. The man looked unimpressed as Wanda, Sam, and Clint nodded their agreements. 

"Dumbasses," Fury snarled, slamming one fist on the table, "I can't believe you're making me agree with _Stark_ , here, but you all need to get your heads out of your asses and think. The Accords aren't perfect. That's why Stark has been working non-stop on making amendments to them."

For some reason, that seemed to surprise them. Fury felt his eyes roll back into his skull. "Before you begin screaming 'no', again, I need you to hear me out. All of you."

Fortunately, the prior news seemed to have stunned them into silence for a moment, so Nick took his chance. 

"The Accords put restrictions on you, yes. But they will also make it legal for you to enter sovereign countries when necessary. It will also allow the government and UN to take more control of damages. I'll be perfectly honest here, no government wants to have control over the Avengers. You're all potentially dangerous, like it or not."

Natasha, who had been largely silent until that point, slowly reached out to take the new version of the Accords into her hand. "Understandably. So who would we be hosted under? I assume Stark Industries isn't our new employer."

"SHIELD." Nick said. Steve and Natasha shared a look. 

"Starting fresh, that is- and working alongside the UN, not _under_ a government." Steve said, phrasing it like a question. When Fury nodded, he seemed to relax. "Fine. We need to think it over."

Nick snorted. "Yeah? Maybe this time around, you should actually read the Accords, too. You should know what you're doing before you reject a political movement that will save who knows how many lives, including your own asses."

"So, what? We eventually sign, and then you just move us all into Stark Tower?" Sam crossed his arms. "I'm fine with that. But even if we were working together to stop that big ugly prune and his magic rainbow gloves, that doesn't mean this is a good idea."

"You have a better one?" Nick smiled when no one responded once again. He had a headache growing- he'd need to remind Hill to get him one of those big bags of aspirin. The big ones. Especially if he was about to have to work with these motherfuckers on a weekly basis. 

"Good. We have lawyers from SI- some of the best- to go through the newest version of the Accords with you. Anyone like to start?"

Wanda raised her hand immediately. When she got several glances, she shrugged. "I won't be locked up. I won't be confined to my room. If there have been revisions, I would like to make that descision on my own, once I read it."

Bucky's hand raised a moment after. "I think I should make my own choice, too," he huffed out. That was that. Steve sighed and raised his hand, and Sam and Clint moved to follow. 

Natasha smirked, standing up and pushing in her chair as she did. "I'll see you back at the tower after you've signed."

"What makes you so sure we will?"

The redhead just gave him a friendly wink before sliding out of the conference room and back into the main SHIELD headquarters. It was a happy change from before, though. It was nice to still be friends with Natasha, even if they didn't decide to sign.

After another moment, a moderately sized crowd of professional-looking people came in. One woman walked up to shake Fury's hand briefly. 

"Latifah Baqri. Thank you for allowing us in." She turned to the members sitting at the table. "We're the lawyers from SI, and our job is to go through the Sokovia Accords with you all. This will take a few days, at least."

Clint frowned. "A few days?"

"It's a legal document, Mr. Barton," Ms. Baqri said, accent thick. "It goes into a bit more detail than just calling you criminals on a whim."

"But it does call us criminals somewhere, right?"

"It does if you break the law."

"And what if we need to break a law to save, I dunno, a city? Half the universe?"

Ms. Baqri smiled patiently. "That's what the Accords are _for_ , Mr. Barton."

When no more objections were voiced, Nick clapped his hands together and took off, leaving them to read. In between sessions with their individual lawyers, they would be allowed to live at SHIELD headquarters. Until that document was signed, though, they wouldn't be allowed to leave. 

The Accords weren't perfect- and they probably never would be; that was just how political documents worked. But with the emmendments Stark had made, and was still making, the Accords were what made the job legal. Besides, if there ever was another alien threat, it wasn't even a question; the Avengers would be pulled in immediately, to stop the threat however they could. 

And if the Avengers were all living together again in Stark Tower, it would be much easier to give the call to assemble. Now, personality conflicts... that, Nick couldn't stop. 

Christ. It _was_ going to be like old times. He'd be working with a bunch of children. 

"Hill?"

_"Yes, sir?"_

"I need to be medicated. Heavily."

He could hear the barely-there smile in her voice as she replied, _"I'm on my way."_

* * *

As it turned out, the amended Sokovia Accords were clearly the best option. Faced either with a lifelong sentence of imprisonment, retirement, not being able to work outside of their home countries, versus signing and having legal access to other countries and issues with a few choice restrictions, the latter was definitely looking like the best plan of action. The main amendments that Stark made had allowed the Avengers to operate under a reformed SHIELD, which would work alongside the UN, not under it. That took away the Avenger's independent operation, but it wasn't much different than what they had been doing for a while following the battle of New York.

The second provided a way of legal access skewed to fit the Avenger's needs. If something went wrong, it made it much harder to target the team individually, or imprison them for something both SHIELD and the government played a role in. It would also lead to a hearing, instead of direct imprisonment, based on the situation and how many laws were broken in terms of what the threat was. 

There were several more, some that Steve couldn't even understand, but Latifah Baqri had been selected as his individual lawyer and she worked him through all of the legal procedures, getting straight to the point in a detatched nature. 

And it took a long time. Steve began to realize what Ms. Baqri was saying about a 'legal document'-- the details were everywhere, some seemingly insignificant. 

"These Accords will effect lives all over the planet, Mr. Rogers," she explained carefully. "It's important that they are perfected as we move along, change to fit in an ever-changing world. This is the first time the world has truly seen enhanced individuals, and the number is only growing. Laws need to be put in place for everyone's safety- and just because someone is enhanced, that doesn't mean they know better than the people they are protecting. Do you understand?" 

Bucky was the first one to sign. 

"I'm not sayin' you need to," he had grumbled. "I'm just sayin' that I don't want to be sent to the Raft the next time I have another inevitable psychotic break."

For several reasons, it was decided that Bucky would remain in SHIELD HQ for the time being, despite having signed. It was still unclear how Stark would respond to housing his parents' murderer, although he had been clear that he would. But since he had signed, Bucky was free to leave headquarters. He rarely did.

The next was Sam, although he didn't actually sign the documents immediately. Steve could tell that he wanted to- one day, during another meeting, Sam had grown quiet and was still looking over the Accords while they argued. Clint was arguing particularly viciously, but it had become clear that he was fighting in order to make sure his family and the safehouse would remain safe, secure, and hidden-- not simply out of stubbornness. 

"Sam? You've been quiet," Wanda acknowledged. Everyone turned towards the man, who shifted uncomfortably. 

"I'm on your team, Cap. First and foremost. Call me stupid, but that dumbass loyalty hasn't failed me before." It wasn't exactly an answer, so when no one responded, Sam took a deep breath and continued. "That been said... I don't know. I think signing-- it's the best choice we have."

Wanda nodded slowly. "They can be amended again, right?"

Ms. Baqri blinked. "That's a long process, Ms. Maximoff. Longer than you'd think. But yes, they can definitely be amended, especially when Tony Stark has all of SI working to get legal accessibility to do just that. You're all lucky that the government knows it needs you; it makes them more likely to take requests, despite the risk involved. That doesn't mean it's easy, but it's definitely not impossible."

"And it comes with protections for our- for... family?" Clint stumbled out awkwardly. 

"Of course. As with most anyone in government, there are certain regulations that can keep family members and loved ones away from danger and the public awareness. You have a more dangerous job than most, with the added risk of being public worldwide celebrities. That would be in section three, part two point seven. Mr. Stark made that amendment a couple of years ago."

No wonder Scott had signed before the rest of them. Pym had brought in his own lawyers, and Scott had been out of SHIELD in less than a week. At the time, it had seemed like a betrayal. But the amendment was clearly made to protect Scott and Clint's personal lives.

"I'll sign," Clint said. 

Clint and Wanda both signed. The following day, Steve relented, and only seconds after he agreed, Sam did as well. It was a waterfall effect of signatures, each more reassuring than the last. And honestly, Steve did feel better about signing-- he wouldn't have signed if he hadn't. The amendments made it workable. 

A week later, everyone had signed and Natasha was walking back into the conference room to talk to Latifah Baqri and the rest of the team of lawyers. Fury and Hill were also lingering by the wall, keeping an eye on everything. A few SHIELD agents were on the far end of the table, taking notes. 

"Thank you for all your expertise," Natasha said to the lawyers, shaking Ms. Baqri's hand politely. "You've been immensely helpful to the Avengers, SHIELD, and the UN."

"We're happy to help."

The assassin turned to the rest of them. "Now, about moving back in."

* * *

It wasn't like Steve hadn't talked to Tony since Siberia. 

They had communicated for brief, momentary intervals over COMMs during the war, just like everyone else. Steve was positive that somewhere in that time frame, he and Tony had spoken. Of course, moving in with someone was a bit different than just talking a few clinical words over COMMs.

"You sure you're up for this?" Bucky asked incredulously, giving Steve the once-over as they drove towards the tower's underground parking lot. 

"Of course," Steve responded. 

He, Bucky, and Sam had taken the vintage, while Clint and Wanda were on the quinjet with Natasha- Natasha, who had moved in months earlier, having signed the Accords prior.

Steve had been dreading moving day since Fury had given them the news.

"I'm fine moving back in," Steve blurted out. "I really am. But this was forced on Tony as much as it was forced on us. I know you didn't kill his parents, Buck--"

"I _did_." Bucky interjected, but was ignored.

"--But I can see why Tony blames you for it. Especially after what happened in Siberia... we might've burned that bridge."

Sam was leaning back his chair, looking like he was purposefully trying to lean back on top of Bucky in the back seat. "He did agree to everyone moving in," Sam pointed out. Bucky's vibranium arm took hold of the chair to keep it in place and Sam turned to glare at him. "Stop it."

"You stop it."

They both ended up stopping fairly quickly. Steve turned the vintage into the tower's underground parking lot. At the gate, they were greeted by AI. 

_"Steven Rogers, Sam Wilson, James Buchanan Barnes,"_ the AI greeted in a more mechanical voice than any of them were used to. It wasn't the voice of JARVIS or FRIDAY. _"You are expected. Please continue to lot 2, where Mr. Hogan will give you security clearance."_

Sam and Bucky's expressions didn't change, but Steve couldn't help feeling overwhelmingly nonplussed at the almost aloof treatment. He hadn't been expecting the good old days, where he could park in his usual spot and immediately go up to the fourth floor gym... but they were being treated formally, like business visitors.

Was that all they were, now?

They drove inside, winding up to the second level. A man in sunglasses was waiting in the middle of the street, and gestured for them to stop. When he came over- the man, who was most likely 'Mr. Hogan'- Steve rolled down one window. 

"I'm Mr. Stark's chief of security. I'm going to need all of you to get out of the car. We have valet."

All of them sharing a dubious look, they clambered out of the tiny vintage and looked back towards Mr. Hogan. He started with the closest, Steve, and gave him the once over before pulling out a metal wand and waving it around him. It had to be Stark tech, because it didn't beep for his watch, but when it scanned over a gun, it went off. 

"Gun?"

"I can't keep it?"

Hogan narrowed his eyes. "Listen, buddy. Tony Stark may not see you as a direct threat, but I see _everyone_ not in protocol as a direct threat. The only reason I don't take every bit of metal off you right now is because it was made clear that your job included carrying around weapons at all times."

"So what's the scanner for?" Sam asked. 

Hogan scoffed. "I want to know at least _what_ you're carrying. Bombs and mass weapons are still prohibited on some floors."

He scanned Sam and Bucky. Hogan snorted as he waved the device around Bucky, and it beeped almost continuously. Then he came over the arm. When Bucky met his eyes, challenging, Hogan finally shrugged. "It's an arm, what the hell. Keep it."

After scanning and taking inventory of their weapons, he pulled out three badges from his inner pocket. "Steven Rogers, AKA Captain America, level three, Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon, level three, and James Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier, level two."

When the Avengers had lived together after the Battle of New York, Steve's security clearance had been six. And that had been the lowest out of any of them. 

Bucky didn't seem irritated, just smirked as he looked down at the badge.

Hogan glared at all of them. "Communal floor is still 30. You should be meeting everyone else there, too, so they'll tell you where your personal floor is and how to get settled in." They moved towards the elevator in the middle of the parking garage, feeling Mr. Hogan watching them the whole way. 

"He's a joy," Sam acknowledged. 

"He's a security officer. His job is to be suspicious of everyone."

Sam shrugged. "Is level three high or low? How many levels are there?"

They walked into the elevator. There was a long grid of buttons, each with a big number on the button. Some of the buttons were red, including level 27, which Steve remembered as Tony's workshop. The labs were also in red, along with several other floors Steve couldn't remember the purpose of. 

The red buttons were an indicator that their clearance wasn't getting them in. 

"Well, last time I was here, my level was six," Steve responded. He heard Sam give a long, drawn out sigh behind him. 

"So... low, then."

Steve jammed the button to floor thirty down and didn't respond. He was getting surprisingly anxious about the whole situation. He wasn't aware that it was that obvious, though, until Bucky's real arm landed heavily on his shoulders.

"Chill the fuck out, Steve."

He tried, as the elevator shot up. 

...and was promptly hit with a wave of nostalgia. The elevator rose above the underground parking garage and was immediately on the outside of the building, with one-way-glass allowing them to see the entirety of New York as the elevator flew them up along the side of the tower. Steve hadn't appreciated the view when he had lived there before. 

But seeing it again reminded him of every ride he'd taken in it: coming home from early morning jogs and seeing the sunrise as he got back, taping his finger rapidly on the handrail while it took him down to the quinjets, preparing to do another mission. 

Sam whistled. "Guess it pays to be a billionaire."

And, although Bucky looked incredibly nonchalant to anyone else, Steve could see his eyes flickering across the landscape rapidly, taking it all in. 

It was almost a disappointment when the elevator slowed to a halt outside of level thirty. _"Rogers, Wilson, Barnes,"_ another, more feminine AI- probably FRIDAY- greeted. " _Level thirty._ " 

The doors opened, leading to the communal floor. 

Steve missed a step and nearly tripped as he walked out, dragging his small suitcase behind him. Sam and Bucky followed. The communal floor was different, for sure, but the layout of the kitchen and TV was the same, and he could practically see Bruce making curry or Natasha frying Russian pancakes as the rest of them lounged on the couches.

It hit him that scenes like that might never happen again. The thought was almost unbearable.

"Took you long enough. Where were you, at a drive-through?" They all turned towards the voice-- a tall man who was leaning against the other elevator, holding a large mug of coffee in one hand and looking positively bored. 

The words sent Steve flying back to that day in New York. _What, did you stop for drive-through?_ And for a second, he was sure that the man looking back at them was Tony. But the height was all wrong, and the purposeful grey streaks in the hair didn't match Tony's salt and pepper. It wasn't Tony. Steve had no idea who he was-- but he _reminded_ him of Tony.

And for some reason, that made him... _slightly_ irritated.

"And who the hell are you?" Sam asked. 

"Off to a great start," Bucky said under his breath.

"Doctor Stephen Strange," the man responded. His eyes gleamed in an almost arrogant smile. "Wielder of the time-stone, master of the mystic arts, and Accords-renowned Avenger." 

_Billionaire, playboy, philanthropist._

Steve swallowed thickly. _Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in_.

"Maximoff, Barton, and Romanov should be here any second." Strange continued. "Tony is still in his workshop." And then, not even waiting for any of them to respond, he tilted his head towards the ceiling. "FRIDAY, tell Stark he has visitors?"

_"Of course, Doctor."_

Steve took a moment to reel himself back in. Coming back to the tower was emotional- of course it was, the place had been his home, once- and it was obviously effecting his first impressions, which was the last thing he wanted to do. Making enemies with the people he would be living with for god-knew-how-long wasn't a plan. So Steve breathed deeply, steeled himself, and held out a hand to shake. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Steve Rogers."

Strange's smile grew. "Oh, I know who you are. I didn't expect you to sign the Accords, to be honest." He wasn't taking Steve's hand, and as the tension grew by the second, Steve wasn't sure what to make of that, so he kept his hand outstretched as a peace offering. The prolonged eye contact was getting unnerving, and he could feel Sam and Bucky glancing between the two of them, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Well, they've been amended." Steve said cautiously. 

"I'm aware." The words weren't truculent, but they held a ring of hostility that made Steve shift uneasily. Nonetheless, a moment later, Strange took his hand without looking a way and gave it a brief half-shake before walking away towards the kitchen.

Immaculate timing, really, because the second he turned from the conversation, the elevator gave another ping and the doors slid open to reveal Wanda, Clint, and Natasha. They all looked surprisingly relaxed, including Wanda, who was still turned towards the widow of the elevator, looking at the skyline. 

"It's good to be back," Clint said, shooting a knowing look towards Steve and Natasha. 

Once Steve, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, and Clint had all gathered with their bags at the foot of the elevator, a few of the Avengers who had already been living in the tower for some time began to emerge and greet them. 

Vision arrived and made a beeline to Wanda, immediately bringing her into a hug. Rhodes and Banner also came up from their floors to say hello. During the process of mingling, Steve noticed Bucky slowly but surely moving to the edge of the crowd, trying to back himself up against the wall. Feeling pretty lost himself, Steve followed him. 

"It's not always going to be like this, you know," he said reassuringly. "I doubt our schedules will allow for all of us to meet up in the same place like this again." 

Bucky shrugged. 

"What do you think?" Steve pressed.

Bucky looked out at the small crowd of Avengers. "...I think this might work."

* * *

Stephen wasn't sure what to make out of Rogers. Over the years, Stephen had learned about him in school, studied the procedures Rogers underwent in medical school, and later felt the shock as he learned of the man's resurrection. He had watched the Battle of New York on the news right before going into an expensive heart surgery in Tokyo, and listened to the radio in the aftermath as politicians and civilians discussed superheroes.

Meeting him, without all the costumes and the front, was not what Stephen had expected. 

He knew about Rogers' involvement in the Accords (or lack therein) and had immediately questioned the man. Being somewhat of a celebrity, especially in the medical world, Stephen had learned the hard way about legalities. That it didn't _matter_ if he saved someone from heart failure; if they got an infection afterwards, they would still be able to sue him. The only guard net was the legal documents he signed to prevent it. 

It was a reason why Stephen signed the Sokovia Accords quickly after going through them, once he had been offered the choice. They applied a bit differently, since scientists and physicists, including a certain persistent Jane Foster, were still devoting their lives to figuring out how the mystic arts worked. 

And then Stephen realized that he liked Tony Stark- perhaps to the point where he'd risked the universe trying to save him. When Tony had offered Stephen a floor in Stark tower, even before SHIELD enforced an Avengers HQ there, Stephen had accepted it. (Something like friends, really.)

So when Stephen learned about Siberia, and about the cracked flip phone that Tony constantly kept on his person, he realized that he hated Steven Rogers. Ridiculously. Without ever having met the man. After having had met the man, he grudgingly had to admit that Rogers wasn't the heartless son of a bitch he had imagined him as, but it didn't change what had happened.

So Stephen watched the newly-arrived Avengers from the kitchen with interested eyes. After a moment of looking at a distance, Natasha walked over.

"Did you already tell FRIDAY to call him up?" Natasha asked quietly. Stephen exhaled. 

"Yes. I doubt he'll listen, though. Should I go get him?"

Natasha nodded. "Find Parker, while you're at it. I'm going to get all the business out of the way at once, so I need everyone here."

Stephen slipped around the growing crowd of Avengers around the elevators and walked into one, pressing the red button 27 as the doors slid shut behind him. _"Level 27 is clearance level eight. Please verify your clearance level."_

"Doctor Stephen Strange," Stephen replied, enunciating as clearly as possible. 

_"Cleared,"_ FRIDAY agreed, and the elevator began the descent to the workshop.

As soon as the doors opened again, he could hear Eiffel 65 drifting in from the sealed glass doors. And, to his relief, he could see Peter sitting on one of the workbenches, fiddling around with different tools. The glass doors opened immediately for Stephen, which, in all honesty, was a bit flattering. Peter looked up and grinned.

"Hey, Doctor Strange. Mr. Stark is over there." Peter pointed towards a huge, unattached quinjet wing that had somehow gotten in to the area, and Tony's legs trailing out from underneath the metal. 

"FRIDAY, can you turn off the music?" Stephen asked. Only seconds later Tony was rolling out from under the wing, scowling. His arms were smeared in grease and a large, ugly bruise was blossoming on his forehead. Already, Stephen found himself sighing. "I thought we talked about this, Tony. You didn't even hear FRIDAY over the noise, did you?"

"Sure didn't. I thought we talked about my music. Eiffel 65's 'I'm Blue' is a classic, and how dare you silence them." The mechanic stumbled off of the rolling platform and got to his feet, wiping his hands on his pants absently as he did. "Look, I've got seventeen more projects for SHIELD to finish today--"

"They're here, Tony." 

Peter's head flew up. "Shit, now?"

"Language, kiddo." Tony mumbled halfheartedly. "But, yeah- shit. All of them?"

"Rogers, Maximoff, Barton, Wilson, and Barnes arrived. Natasha is calling everyone- including you, Tony- to the communal floor to take care of business." Stephen noticed Tony's hands beginning to shake ever so slightly around the wrench he was holding. 

"Right. Right- okay. Christ, was that _today_? Fine. Up we go. Up and at 'em." 

"I would shower, first," Stephen suggested, gesturing towards Tony's mess of hair. "Right now they're mingling."

At least that got a laugh out of him. "How bad is it?"

"I was introduced to Steve Rogers. I had to shake his hand." Stephen drawled. "I think I might overdose on patriotism."

Peter hopped off of the tabletop. "Uh, can I go mingle, Mr. Stark?" When Stephen and Tony both turned to him in suprise, the teenager shrugged. "I just... wanted to see who was there? For teamwork reasons?"

"Yeah, that was believable. Go ahead." As soon as Tony gave the order, Peter jumped up and went. Tony turned towards Stephen. "Do you think it's wrong for me to get mad if he starts braiding Rogers' hair?" 

"Put some ice on your forehead, take a shower, and hurry up so we can get this over with." 

He didn't miss Tony's smile as he walked out.

"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Mother-Hen."

* * *

Once everyone was finally on floor thirty, Natasha had them father around on the couches so she could address everyone at once. 

Tony had purposefully avoided meeting anyone's gaze, although he had gone through an awkward moment full of eye contact with Rogers. Most of the bridges he found were in a can of worms Tony wasn't about to open.

"Okay. You know why you're all here- we've all signed the newest versions of the Accords, and SHIELD put the new Avenger's headquarters here for convienience."

"Not that I had a say in that." Tony added helpfully. 

Natasha shot him a look. "So first of all, some house rules. We're all living in the same space so we need to lay down some conduct. Rule number one, if you make a mess in the microwave, you clean it up."

The rules took a while to get through. 

Number nineteen, especially; that on individual dinner night, takeout was not approved. That garnered some near-violent protests.

Some were more serious (wear gloves during sparring), while some were just common sense (don't touch the windows unless you want to clean them).  
Natasha had purposefully made a lighthearted list in order to ease some of the tensions. 

And it was definitely working. Throughout the list, people were laughing and bursting out in rounds of friendly debate. Like a fucking meet and greet, Tony thought. A moment to ignore the past and just focus on making it work.

When Natasha had finished, Tony stepped up. 

"Okay. On your clearance badges you can find your floor level number right above the barcode. Anything else you might need, just ask FRIDAY. Isn't that right, girl?"

_"I'm happy to help, boss."_

"Great." Tony said, clapping his hands together decisively. "Now that freshmen orientation is over, let's get started."

**Author's Note:**

> To clear things up: 
> 
> Why isn't Pepper in this fic?  
> Because I've got some endgame ships that won't work if she and Tony are married. In this AU!verse they never got married, and when they were taking "a break" in Civil War, it all pretty much ended.
> 
> Where is Thor?  
> Next fic. Also, Loki. Both of them will make a (probably) really dramatic entrance.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Warning right now? Stony is NOT an endgame ship. I'm really sorry. They'll have loads of interactions, and Tony's endgame will be hella gay, but not with Steve. It'll be really clear really fast.  
> I'm considering another endgame Stucky. Is that too OOC? What are your thoughts?


End file.
